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R. Kelly and Diddy have something in common ... both men have been accused of racketeering and sex trafficking -- and even though the two aren't exactly friends, Kelly says he feels for Diddy, who's currently on trial, and says Black entertainers as a whole are under siege by the feds.

TMZ caught up with one of Kelly's lawyers, Beau Brindley, who spoke to us about his famous client, who was just placed in solitary confinement after receiving death threats from white supremacists in a federal prison in North Carolina.

Brindley points out Kelly and Diddy are not friends -- and "far from it" -- but Kelly still has sympathy for Diddy over his current situation ... as everyone knows, Diddy is facing decades behind bars if convicted on racketeering, sex trafficking and other charges at his federal criminal trial in NYC.

Diddy's ex-girlfriend says she watched an unnamed woman have sex in front of a party full of people in Las Vegas ... all while an unidentified rap icon flirted with her.

"Jane" was back on the stand for another day of testimony Thursday ... and, she answered questions about a January 2024 trip to Sin City to hang with the unnamed rapper -- described by her as a legend and icon in the industry -- and his wife or girlfriend at a birthday party.

Jane says she flew on the rapper's private plane -- Diddy was unaware because they were on a break at the time, she adds -- and met up with a group of people when they touched down, including Antoine ... who she says was a male escort who knew the rapper and his wife or girlfriend.

Sean "Diddy" Combs chose a unique pet name for his ex-girlfriend ... lovingly calling her his "crackpipe" -- and now we have the strange audio of the moment he gave her the one-of-a-kind term of endearment.

Listen to the audio clip ... the music mogul is apparently raving about the time they spent together during an early 2023 getaway to Turks and Caicos. He gushes ... "You are the crackpipe. That’s my new name for you: crackpipe. Or should I call you CP?"

He laughs at himself -- seemingly amused by the pet name -- before going on about their time together and encouraging his former lover to "stay in the light" and rest up.

Diddy apparently needed companionship in the days after Cassie Ventura filed a civil lawsuit against him ... this according to a conversation he had with "Jane" just days later.

According to a new evidence exhibit filed in the case, the rap mogul and Jane had a conversation recorded by Kristina Khorram -- an employee often referred to as Diddy's chief of staff -- on November 19, 2023. The date is significant … as it is just three days after Cassie filed her lawsuit and two days after Diddy quickly settled for $20 million.

Diddy asks Jane not to send him any texts ... fearing anyone who reads them may misinterpret their communications.

Diddy's trial finished up its 21st day of testimony ... with the mogul's ex returning to the stand to talk more about their relationship -- and how she used the prospect of freak-offs to persuade him.

The rapper was back in court in Manhattan Wednesday, where "Jane" -- the pseudonym his ex-girlfriend is using to testify against him -- was asked questions by Diddy's defense about loving texts she sent to Diddy after freak-offs.

In one, she told him she had so much fun ... adding that her love was "unconditional" and "for life."

Blake Lively's lawyer says his client isn't backing down in her legal battle now that Justin Baldoni's lawsuit has been dismissed ... 'cause she's taking this one all the way to trial.

We spoke with Michael Gottlieb on "TMZ Live" Wednesday ... and, we asked him about Bryan Freedman -- Baldoni's top attorney -- claiming Blake's team is celebrating too soon.

Remember, Bryan came on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and said he and his team absolutely plan to refile the four claims against Lively that weren't dismissed with prejudice ... and repeatedly said he looked forward to deposing Lively sometime this month, provided she doesn't drop her lawsuit.

Crypto kidnap and torture suspects John Woeltz and William Duplessie are now indicted on multiple felony counts, and prosecutors are addressing TMZ's wild videos showing their alleged victim partying and having sex ... calling it an elaborate smoke screen.

In a Manhattan courtroom Wednesday, crypto bros Woeltz and Duplessie were accused of staging those kinky videos to make it seem like they were not holding Italian businessman Michael Carturan captive.

Prosecutors say the duo arranged for Carturan to be photographed in those party pics and sex scenes to sell the lie that he was just living it up.

Diddy's ex once suggested the possibility of a freak-off to get Diddy to ditch his date ... this according to her testimony.

"Jane" is back on the stand for another intense day of cross-examination ... and, Diddy's legal team asked her about a text she sent where she seemed to be using the mogul's turn-on to get him to do what she wants.

Diddy's lawyer, Teny Geragos asked Jane about a night when Diddy was hanging out with Yung Miami on vacation.

Disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein was just found guilty by a New York jury on one charge in his sex crimes retrial.

The 12 jurors convicted Weinstein on first-degree criminal sexual act related to the 2006 case of ex-production assistant Miriam Haley, who accused HW of forcibly performing oral sex on her at his Manhattan home.

Weinstein was acquitted on a separate charge of criminal sexual act arising from similar allegations brought by model Kaja Sokola, also in 2006. The jury has yet to vote on a third charge in which aspiring actress Jessica Mann claimed Weinstein raped her in 2013.

The two suspects in NYC's crypto kidnapping and torture case just can't catch a break ... prosecutors just unsealed an indictment charging them with a series of felonies -- one day after their Kentucky home was raided by the feds.

Bitcoin investors John Woeltz and William Duplessie were indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on charges of kidnapping, assault, coercion, attempted grand larceny and criminal possession of a weapon, according to new court documents.

On Tuesday, federal agents with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives descended on a Smithland, KY, estate owned by Woeltz and Duplessie, sources with direct knowledge told TMZ.

As Immigration Customs and Enforcement raids go down across the country, ICE now has its very own impersonator ... and he's wreaking his own brand of havoc in Philadelphia.

Detectives are searching for a man posing as an ICE agent, who they say tied up a woman and stole $1,000 in cash from her at a repair shop last weekend.

Police say the sham agent screamed "Immigration" before tying up the woman for more than 2 hours and swiping her money. The woman was eventually freed by a co-worker long after the suspect had fled in a white Ford van.

Diddy's ex-girlfriend was back on the stand Tuesday in the 20th day of witness testimony in the music mogul's federal criminal trial ... and she got testy with Diddy's defense team.

In a tense exchange, "Jane" got short with Diddy's defense attorney, Teny Geragos, while testifying about her jealousy over a Chanel bag Diddy gave to another woman while they were in a relationship.

Geragos asked Jane if she got a Chanel bag and Jane shot back, "I only got trauma." Geragos asked Jane about a Bottega Veneta bag and there was a verbal gasp in the courtroom when Jane retorted, "I'm sure you have one."

Justin Baldoni's lawyer is taking shots at his client's legal nemesis Blake Lively ... blasting Blake for what he says is a premature celebration.

Bryan Freedman joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and we asked him how he and Justin reacted to Blake's big legal win Monday, when a judge tossed out Baldoni's defamation claims in a $400 million lawsuit against Blake and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.

While it seemed like the end of the legal beef, Bryan tells us this still has a long way to go ... which is why he thinks it's rich Blake is on what he calls a "false victory tour."

Diddy's ex-girlfriend "Jane" had a tense back-and-forth with defense attorney Teny Geragos ... after getting asked about the price of some designer handbags.

It all played out Tuesday in Diddy's federal criminal trial in New York, with Jane under cross-examination from Geragos, who is 4 months pregnant.

Jane -- who is testifying under a pseudonym to protect her identity -- was talking about an argument with Diddy over a Chanel bag he allegedly gave to another woman.

Feds are poking around a home owned by the two suspects charged with kidnapping and torturing an Italian man for weeks inside a swanky multimillion-dollar New York City townhouse in an alleged scheme to obtain a Bitcoin password.

Cryptocurrency investor John Woeltz and his alleged accomplice, Swiss businessman William Duplessie, own an estate in Kentucky ... and the property is currently crawling with law enforcement.

Federal agents from the ATF and officers from the Kentucky State Police and the New York Police Department are currently executing two warrants at the property ... sources with knowledge have confirmed to TMZ.

Diddy's ex-girlfriend "Jane" says a threesome they had with a male escort had them feeling like NBA ballers ... testifying she and Diddy compared themselves to Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan.

During cross-examination Tuesday in Diddy's federal criminal trial, Jane told jurors Diddy referred to a particular three-way as a "trifecta" and compared them to three NBA Hall of Fame basketball stars.

Jane -- who's testifying under a pseudonym to protect her identity -- said the trifecta included a male escort, Paul ... and she told jurors in this scenario she was Kobe, Diddy was MJ and Paul was Shaquille O'Neal.